Morning Glory Studio

and that's a wrap | 2016 Year in Review ...

     Via Mary, I am 100% blog-lifting Vicki's Year in Review 2016 idea: " Share the first line of the first blog post of each month and a favorite photo from that month's post. The two are not necessarily related."

Ready? Read on and mucho thanks Vicki and Mary. I love this meme and plan to add my voice again next year! 

January 2016

There is nothing that I find more inspirational  than a spectacular sunrise but a spectacular sunset!

February 2016

 I often forget to share my monthly Collect app photo collage, so I thought I'd give it a try this year...my intent is to post on the first of each month...obviously, I missed my mark, so, I'll try again in March.

March 2016 

I am a Lark.

April 2016

Earlier in March I shared the saga of my Mac OS El Capitan 3-day upgrade.

May 2016

Mondays are quilting days and this Monday, 2 May, we're having the first of a a 2-part workshop on free motion quilting - probably the bane of most quilters' existence.

June 2016

May was a full month and as I was creating the COLLECT monthly image, I realized I have shared the stories behind most of the images.

July 2016

Around here...contemplating what this day means: "One Nation...Indivisible...with Liberty and Justice for ALL!"

August 2016

Helloooo...monday, august, a new week, a new month ...

September 2016

  I am delighted that August is over for another year! It was a H-O-T one, to say the least!

October 2016

 September, by all accounts, was a busy month for me - the highlight connecting with several dear friends, with whom I worked and hadn't seen in too long.

November 2016

November begins with two big events: NaBloPoMo: thirty days of blogging and a super big wish to Norman who celebrates his 83rd birthday today! 

December 2016

 For as many years as I have fingers, including my thumbs, I have kept a daily journal during the month of December.

Thanks  again to Vicki and Mary and to You for joining me on this journey. See you in 2017! Best wishes and 

Cheers~

 

 

 

preparing for "out with the old, in with the new"...

 

 (Today's sky about 11 am )

          Today, three friends and I were planning to visit the Phillips Gallery (my third time) to see the two exhibits I wrote about here. One friend has been nursing the same type of malady as I so she opted out in order to go to the doctor instead, 'cause she's not getting any better. Well, Mother Nature decided that none of us would go today: the temperature's hovered around the mid 30s all day, cloudy and sunny and 19 mph winds out of the west - making it feel like 32 degrees. And to be upfront, I'm still not cookin' with gas on all four burners...so staying home was probably a good idea for me, too.

About 11 am, I got a weather alert: Snow is approaching and is expected within the next 30 minutes... SNOW! And sure enough, I looked out the window 15 minutes later and whoa! Swirling  snow flurries! Not at all enough to stick...but certainly visible enough to confirm that the season is "winter." In fact, as a I write this post, 4 hours later, we are being treated with another round of swirling snowflakes.

With my plans changed, I  shifted  my attention to wrapping up the year:

• reviewing this month's journal/planner notes; 
• thinking about 2017 thought  - especially processes I want to continue and or implement;
• deciding on the collection tool/s I will use. 

For easily 15 years, I've used the disc bound style notebooks, made popular by Levenger's Circa , Staples Arc; a scrapbooking company, Me and My Big Ideas - MAMBI with the Happy Planner. Recently,  at an office supply store, I even saw another  disc bound player in the market, TUL. I suspect that over the past 30 years or so, I've used every type planner imaginable: Franklin Covey Planner to the Palm Pilot to today's iPhone...and over the years, my favorite has been paper with the "Circa" style rings. I like that I can mix/match various sizes pages, as small as 2 x 4.5 to as large as an A4 (8.3 x 11.7 inches) in a notebook with  9.25 x 11 3/8  covers...and for that matter, make my own odd sized  notebook, limited only by my imagination.

For whatever reason, I abandoned the Circa/disc-bound system and started using a Moleskine Extra Large notebook plus I played with the bullet journal system in a Leuchtturm, I think basically because I liked the dot grid layout of the pages. And then I discovered Rhodia pads: high grade vellum paper with the dot grid ... a dream to write on using pencil, inks of all types, pencils, Sharpies, water -color pencils, highlighters, etc. I have an ambitious plan (or is it just an ambition ?) to "create/write" a book this year... to be published by a Shutterfly or Artifact Uprising type service. And as I gather, record, write  the content, I want to have it available in a variety of formats: from standard sized sheets printed by my computer/printer to my handwritten notes on various and sundry sizes of and types of papers, index cards, etc...I also want the ease and flexibility to arrange and rearrange the content as I move forward through the year.

So, with these thoughts and goals in mind, I decided I'd return to using the disc bound system for gathering my daily journaling, incorporate aspects of the bullet journal in my planning, story-writing, note-taking, drawing/sketching, capturing and documenting pages...supplemented by my digital tools, including perhaps an iPad Pro. But that's a story for another post.

Over the next few days in the New Year, I plan to share my 2017 plans - and ambitions...

Where are you in the 2017 planning process?

Cheers~

 

think write thursday | new year's eve...

 

 

  New Year's @ Times Square 2016 

via NBC TV

        Years, decades ago, a guy (I dated) and I made a pact : Come the year 2000,  we would somehow manage to get ourselves to New York City's Times Square and meetup on New Year's Eve. I'm not sure how we planned to connect among the thousands that convene there; I don't recall that we even addressed that minor detail. We just thought that it would be a pretty cool thing to do.

This weekend, 17 New Years' Eves will have come and gone since 2000...and no, we have not met; in fact, we lost touch. C'est la vive. I do sometimes, especially this time of the year, wonder if he remembers the pact or if he even ever got to Times Square. The closest I've ever come to being there  - early in the Decembers of 2013 and 2014...

In my younger days, I partied hearty with friends...sometimes we did the town; other times, gathered at one another's homes to ring in the new year. Several years in the late '80s, we reserved rooms at a local hotel and attended performances featuring well known musical groups; that was nice because we could party and not have to worry about driving home, etc.

These days, New Year's Eve is spent at  home sweet home. Norman and I may have pizza and always, champagne. We watch the ball drop;*  wish one another a healthy, happy new year; call and/or send texts to family and then, head off to bed. Ready for the new year!

You can join others' New Year's  trips down memory lane on Carole's blog, here...Thanks Carole and Kat for sparking my trip... and to all: Happy New Year!

Cheers~ 

*or at least plan to - we've both been known to doze off...

 

watercolor wednesday | holly berry bush...

            The holly bushes are filled with bright red berries this year! I went outside briefly for some fresh air yesterday, Tuesday. The sky was a bright blue and the temp got as high as 64 degrees. Though Tuesday's spring-like, unseasonal temperature is  short lived, I  always appreciate Mother Nature's bounty. 

Are you having a hint of spring, too?

Cheers~

I am feeling much better and I expect to be back to my self by the week's/year's end. Thanks for your well wishes.

recent reads | december 20, 2016

 

 

            A week ago today (Tuesday), my friends* and I gathered for our bi-monthly sharing of the books we've read, started, abandoned, etc., and of course conversation that runs the gamut. We've been having these sessions not quite a year. After the sharing, the hostess treats us to a very tasty brunch/lunch ...  

We were scheduled to meet last month on the 15th  but had to postpone; had we met as scheduled, the date was not only my birthday but also the 15th, which is my monthly Simply *A * Moment day. I had planned to have them join me in capturing the moment and so we did  this month. I assured them that I would respect their privacy and thoughts ( i.e., not share their moments or  their photos).  I am including their moments in my December album and sharing with you, my journaling: 

~Tuesday 20 December 2016 | 1:55 pm | 37 degrees F

    We're sitting at the dining room table - having eaten a delicious lunch. Hearing the scratch of pens as we each write. MT gets up to retrieve two more pens; hers and KH's are dry. DK is busy writing her S*A*M...I stop to take a photo and pick up the tiny bar of gift soap MT set at our places...nice smell. The furnace is making a dull roar - the sky is a bright blue - crystal clear. Earlier, I looked out the window and was treated with a parade of birds: cardinals; blue jays; MT's fave: starlings...(HA!). MT's new stainless has a fun pattern on the handles...it's so quiet...

 And that's the way those moments were on 20 December 2016. It's always good to connect with and be in the company of friends.

Cheers~

 

*We've known one another for decades - note: I didn't say years.

 

dec 26 | currently...

circa 5 pm est 26 dec 

feeling punk...I indeed did come down with a cold! My first in I don't know when ...

awaking after a 3-hour nap ! ...

sitting in bed, surrounded by Kleenex, a couple books, my journal,  pens, iPad ...

hearing Norman in the kitchen, chopping something ...

smelling just-baked chicken ...

realizing I am not hungry...a cold will do that to you ...

reading and finishing Slow Stitch and ...

thinking: There is a powerful magic in doing some thing, the same some thing at nearly the same time every day...for me, that magic time is early morning.  My desire (and one of my 2017 goals  ) is to extend the feelings and import of my morning solitude and quiet time - MSQT - throughout my mornings, everyday. A quest I've been on a few years and one that seems to elude me...or so I think. Perhaps I might stop thinking so much... Now, that's a thought!

 

Cheers~

 

 

 

 

it's Christmas!...

 

 

... the sky is tinted with varying shades of pink as the sun begins to set on this lovely Christmas day. We have been graced with sunshine and temps in the high 40s...perfect weather for a nice afternoon walk. Our holiday has been very peaceful and quiet; Norman's son arrived about 1 pm and later in the afternoon, my grand nieces and the bébé - now 2 and a half; guess I'll have to start referring to him as Chris...

It has been a long while since we've had a toddler or young child in the house at Christmas; I'm thinking 14 years ago, when it was Kayla's turn. We got him a road rug with four wooden emergency type vehicles...he knew/understood  the markings on each - one is an helicopter - and made the appropriate sounds and gestures...  Next he read his book; that took all of 3 minutes - well maybe 4.5...

... and then he spied my cache of 48 colored Staedtler color pens. Well, nothing would do but that he could get them in his hot little hands and write, draw, color. etc. I convinced him that a box of crayons and a big sheet of paper were more what he needed so we headed up the stairs to my craft room to retrieve such. Ah! A gold mine: computer keyboard; drawers and doors to open; ink pads and stamps; lots of stuff to investigate and touch. I couldn't find the crayons - of course; tomorrow they'll show up - of course. I substituted markers...what fun to take the tops off, make a scribble and put them back on. Tiring soon of that, his attention returned to the pens so I hastily introduced watercolor pencils and a water brush. He seemed to take interest in taking the tops on /off and wanting also to rubber stamp. I started back upstairs without him...nope, that wasn't going to do..."I'm coming too!" he announced by fretting a bit...

Back downstairs, he stamped a bit and then resumed his fascination with the colored pens so I relented and let him play with them. Seems that what he really enjoyed doing was taking the tops off. Time to go! Not a happy camper. I assured him that he could come back anytime as my dad always said. For some reason, that seemed to pacify him for the moment...

Off they went. I cleaned up the kitchen and great room areas. It's 10 pm...Norman's watching the Sunday Night football game. We had a lovely time Christmas Eve with friends and Christmas Day with family.  As soon as I push publish I'm going to turn in early. As I texted my sister: "I think you texted me your cold...I've a slight sore throat and feel a tad achy." I'm going to take an aspirin and call it good night.

How was your holiday weekend?

Cheers~

 

dec 24 | a musical Christmas Eve memory ...

 

    

                    The other night we watched an old time Christmas movie, well rather Norman watched; I think (know) I dozed off, only to be awakened by a boys' choir singing Schubert's Ave´Maria. I thought at the time...and still do...that Ave´Maria is one of the loveliest of songs, especially when rendered by the tender voices of young boys. The experience stirred a favorite childhood Christmas memory:

On Christmas Eve, after my sister and I had gone to bed (early, of course to hasten Santa's arrival), my parents would sit in the living room, drink eggnog, spiked with a tad bit o' whiskey and listen to Christmas music and arias from my mom's favorite operas. I know this of course because I would wake up - before Santa arrived - and go see if he indeed had. Nope - though I was assured that we would be awakened when he came - but not before midnight. So I was encouraged to return to bed. And, lo and behold, shortly after midnight, Santa came, delivered presents and we were awakened. My parents watched us as we hastily ripped off wrapping papers, accompanied by oohs and aahs... and played with our new toys

After a while, time came  for all of us to go to bed. My sister and I did and fell fast asleep, perhaps clutching a new baby doll or stuffed animal. My parents too fell fast asleep, knowing that they could sleep in in the morning and wouldn't miss out on our joy at seeing what Santa brought. And that we would play quietly until they awoke.

I searched for Ave´ Maria and found all sorts of versions; I chose this one*, by Pavarotti, one of my mother's favorite tenors. I hope you enjoy listening to it and that it brings happy memories for you, too. This version was recorded in 1978 and I thought it was more in keeping with the memory...both my parents were still alive then and would have spent their Christmas Eve listening to music...

 

Merry Christmas!

 

*Sorry, you will need to skip an ad. 

dec 23 | chores and satisfaction. calm. peace...

 

  

        So, the countdown really begins in earnest: Lists made, checked twice and some, even completed.

I made my third and  last trip to the grocery store today...for eggs, aluminum foil, and sour cream. The cashier was as jolly as anyone could be, a tall, young man, very efficient and personable. I suspect his colleagues' work hours are truly brightened up when he's on the schedule. He was just full of positive vibes...I'm sure you've met someone like that over the course of your customer service experiences. And his vibrancy rubbed off...I noted a higher bounce in my step as I left the store. Super refreshing.

Part of today was also spent doing household chores:

• laundry;
• vacuuming;
• mopping the kitchen floor;
• cleaning the bathrooms. 

Household chores...a woman's work is never done. I know that there are times when we wonder, why bother? It's just going to have to be done again and again and again and... As I mopped the kitchen floor, I also felt a sense of calm. Over the course of my lifetime, I've mopped many a kitchen floor; I have no idea how many times nor does it really matter. Mopping the floor just as going to the grocery store and doing the laundry or any other chore really does bring a sense of satisfaction, even if only momentary. Satisfaction. Calm. Peace.

Christmas Eve we join friends for a  potluck. During the day, I plan to work on my December album, now that I have Epson photo paper. I'm aiming for  more Satisfaction. Calm. Peace. 

Cheers~

 

think write thursday | plus/delta ...

 

 

            When the going gets tough, how do you respond? This week's Think Write Thursday prompt question wants to know. And my answer is I am a generally positive person, very little gets me down (unless its of unfathomable proportions). Years ago, my mother counseled: "Be like Scarlett (O'Hara as in Gone With the Wind); think about that tomorrow." And generally, whatever I thought was end-of-the-world wasn't! 

In training events, participants are often asked to evaluate the session, using a Plus/Delta formula: 

• What did you like? what were the pluses +++
• What would you change? what are the deltas ∆∆∆   

I think doing a +/∆  is a handy little formula to apply in most instances and/or days, especially those that fall under the heading: what can go wrong does... 

Over the course of my lifetime, I have encountered some, at the time, seemingly insurmountable events and now, today, from my vantage point, I know that they were not. I guess this is called wisdom. This is not to say that I am now Miss Pollyanna or that I am not aware of and/or don't have experiences and encounters that are negative or less than desirable. I just know that there are many things that I cannot change tho' I can and hopefully do contribute to effecting positive changes. There is one thing I can manage and do focus my attention on...and change: ME!

How would you respond to the question? Visit this week's TWT page here for others' responses. Thanks to Carole and Kat for a thought-provoking topic. 

Cheers~